Sofia subway to reach airport in 2012

New investment in Katowice Economic Zone

Hundreds of jobs created from new Gdansk gas terminal

Pierre & Vacances announce Spanish sale-and-leaseback deals

Kier Dubai awarded $63m City of Arabia contract

Average property prices in China's major cities up 5.7%

Property market may be stabilising in Dubai

Sofia subway to reach airport in 2012

The station of Sofia’s subway network located close to the airport will be ready in 2012. By then, the second underground line, connecting the central rail station to Hemus Hotel should also have been completed. However, the development will only be possible if Sofia municipality receives EU financial aid, according to Sofia Mayor Boiko Borissov.

The project requires €283m of EU financial aid and the municipality will provide €50m.

Finalising the underground network was going to divert some of the passenger traffic from other public transportation means. Nearly 25% of the local buses would not be needed and as a result pollution and road accidents would decrease. Traveling from the outskirts to Sofia’s centre will take 10 minutes once the underground was ready, according to initial estimates.

New investment in Katowice Economic Zone

American firm TRW will invest $35m in Częstochowa, near Katowice, to develop an existing factory and R&D center. About 600 new jobs will be created. Thanks to the reinvestment the plant will employ a total of 3,900 people.

Hundreds of jobs created from new Gdansk gas terminal

A trans-shipment terminal for handling gas, intended to break Poland’s dependency on supplies from Russia, is to be built in Gdansk. The decision was made by Poland’s Prime Minister, Jarosław Kaczynski.

The construction of the terminal will cost €300-400m to be paid by the terminal’s operator. Hundreds of jobs should be created as a result of the three-year-long construction work. Later, once the terminal is in operation, it will be a permanent source of revenue for the port.

Pierre & Vacances announce Spanish sale-and-leaseback deals

Pierre & Vacances Property Investments have announced that they are guaranteeing UK and Irish investors the choice of a 5% constant or 4.5% index-linked net return (except property tax) for up to 30 years, for their latest Spanish residential development, Terrazas, located in Manilva on the Costa del Sol.

Once complete, the development will consist of 328 one, two and three-bedroom apartments with large terraces ranging from 10 to 35 square metres, overlooking the Mediterranean and Gibraltar.

Nick Leach of Pierre & Vacances told PIN: " Investors are buying the freehold of the property and signing a commercial lease with Pierre & Vacances to manage and rent the property for them so the ownership status is secure from the beginning.  As with any rental guarantee this guarantee is only as strong as the company making it.  Pierre & Vacances are listed on the French stock market with an annual turnover of €1.2 billion.  They guarantee the returns irrespective of occupancy with income generated form the 6.6 million tourist clients that stay at their 200+ resorts across Europe every year."

Kier Dubai awarded $63m City of Arabia contract

Leighton-Kier Joint Venture has been awarded a $63m contract for the construction of roads and infrastructure on Dubai’s new City of Arabia mega project, including the construction of 15km of roads in and around the development, five road bridges, and 120km of underground services.

The $2bn City of Arabia, a two million sq ft development, will include the largest shopping centre in the region, a dinosaur theme park with over 100 animatronic dinosaurs and a 10km long Wadi Walk with Mediterranean-style apartments.

Average property prices in China's major cities up 5.7%

Average residential property prices in seventy major Chinese cities rose by an average 5.7% in July 2006, compared to the same time one year prior, but fell 0.1% compared to June 2006, according to the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The highest price gain was recorded in the southern city of Shenzhen, where average property prices rose 13.6%. this was followed by Beijing, up 11.1%, Hohhot (Inner Mongolia) up 9.6%, Guangzhou ( Guangdong Province) at 9% and Chengdu ( Sichuan Province), also 9%.

Property market may be stabilising in Dubai

The property market in Dubai may be cooling, according to a report by the Sunday Times, but there is no 'bubble' on the horizon.

The survey, which was carried out with executives across 315 property brokerages, dealerships and consultants, revealed that a staggering 92% of respondents voted that prices are still rising, but at a far more gradual rate of inflation (between 10-25% pa).

The report also suggests that as more residential properties are completed, average rents will stabilise and possibly even fall. A total of 74% of the executives polled predicted that rental prices would not change over the next year, while 21% predicted that rents will fall as more properties are completed.